Cell subscriber base crosses 97.30 Lakh mark in November

The cellular subscriber base increased by 7.53 lakh in November to touch 97.30 lakh mark with the new GSM entrant BSNL notching a subscriber base of 3.55 lakh. The previous best was 489,000 in August this year.

According to the figures released by Cellular Operators Association of India, the subscriber base in the country has grown to 97.30 lakh in November against 89.77 lakh in October this year.

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd which launched its GSM services -CellOne- recently has a significant subscriber base in the first two months of its operations and its customer base across various circles added up to 3.55 lakh in November.

Delhi's subscriber base stood at 15.91 lakh during November against 14.74 lakh in the previous month. Bharti Cellular maintained its lead in the circle notching a subscriber base of 8.13 lakh against Hutchison's 5.74 lakh customers and MTNL's 1.28 lakh customers.

The cellular base of Idea Cellular, which is the fourth operator in the circle was 75,384 as on November 30, according to COAI data. The company has said recently that it has touched a subscriber base of one lakh as on December 8. The primary reason for new subscribers opting for the fourth operators is the attractive packages and tariffs offered.

In Mumbai Hutchison Max attracted a subscriber base of 5.94 lakh, while that of BPL Mobile stood at 5.64 lakh. MTNL and Bharti Cellular claimed a subsciber base of 1.07 lakh and 1.99 lakh respectively in November.